Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, speaking publicly Wednesday for the first time since Monday night’s game against the Bills was postponed due to the medical emergency involving Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin, emphasized the importance of preparing for what’s next without simply moving on.
“We do have a game to play Sunday, and we do have to move focus toward that,” Taylor said. “But at the same time, you don’t have to move past the situation that’s happening right now. We can still provide support for the players that need more of that, for their family, who is 2 miles away here at University Hospital, to the Bills. So you’re able to have space to do that but at the same time, as a team move forward to focusing on Baltimore on Sunday.”
The league announced Wednesday that Sunday’s game against the Ravens will kick off at 1 p.m., but it still has not decided whether the game against the Bills will be resumed.
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And as important as Sunday’s game against the Ravens is, the full playoff ramifications are unknown until a decision is made on the Bills game.
If it’s not rescheduled, the impact goes beyond just those teams and affects the Chiefs and Ravens.
If Bills-Bengals is not rescheduled
The Bengals win the AFC North Division regardless of what happens Sunday against the Ravens and could finish no worse than the No. 3 seed.
Even if Baltimore wins Sunday to complete the season sweep, it will finish 11-6 and the Bengals would be 11-5 if the Buffalo game is deemed a no contest, or 11-5-1 if it’s deemed a tie. Either way, the Bengals finish with a better winning percentage than the Ravens.
A cancelation of the Buffalo game would have a negative impact on the Bengals in that it would eliminate them from any chance of earning the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
The current records and win percentages for the AFC’s top three teams:
Chiefs: 13-3, .812
Bills: 12-3, .800
Bengals: 11-4, .733
If the Chiefs win in Las Vegas on Saturday:
The Chiefs claim the No. 1 seed.
The Bengals would earn the No. 2 seed with a win against the Ravens and a Bills loss to the Patriots.
Such a scenario would leave the Bengals and Bills tied at 12-4. The first tiebreaker of head-to-head is not in play, and the second tiebreaker of conference record would be tied at 8-3.
The third tiebreaker is record in common games, minimum of four. There are 11 common opponents because the AFC North crossed over with the AFC East this year, all in the AFC, so they again are tied 8-3 in common games.
The fourth tiebreaker is strength of victory, which is the combined winning percentage of each team beaten. The Bengals’ strength of victory is .483, and the Bills’ is .479. And there is no way for the Bills to leapfrog the Bengals.
Even though each team played five games against teams the other did not face, four of the five for the Bengals are the NFC South teams, and with the Buccaneers playing the Falcons and Panthers facing the Saints, the wins/losses/ties will even out. Same goes for the Bills, who played the NFC North, where the Lions play the Packers, and the Vikings battle the Bears.
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The lone remaining opponents in play are the Cowboys, to whom the Bengals lost, so that won’t affect their strength of victory, and the Rams, whom the Bills beat. But even if the Rams upset the Seahawks, the Bills can’t get any closer than within .002 of the Bengals in strength of victory.
The Bengals would be the No. 3 seed if they lose to the Ravens or the Bills beat the Patriots.
If the Chiefs lose or tie against the Raiders and the Bills beat the Patriots:
The Bills would earn the No. 1 seed. They would have a record of 13-3 (.812), while the Chiefs would be 13-4 (.765) or 13-3-1 (.794).
The Bengals would be locked into the No. 3 seed if that happens. Even with a win against the Ravens to go to 12-4 (.750), the Bengals still would finish behind the Chiefs.
If the Chiefs lose or tie against the Raiders and the Bills lose to the Patriots:
The Chiefs would be the No. 1 seed at 13-3-1 (.794) or 13-4 (.765), and the Bengals could move ahead of the Bills for the No. 2 seed with a win against the Ravens via the same fourth tiebreaker criteria ahead.
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How the Bills-Bengals postponement affects the AFC playoff picture
If Bills-Bengals is rescheduled
The Bengals can finish as the No. 1, 2, 3, 5 or 6 seed.
The path to the No. 1 seed would be clear. The Chiefs would need to lose to the Raiders and the Bengals would have to beat the Ravens and Bills.
If the Chiefs beat or tie the Raiders, the best the Bengals could do is earn the No. 2 seed with wins against the Ravens and Bills.
If the Bengals beat the Ravens or Bills, they would earn no less than the No. 3 seed.
If they lose to the Ravens and Bills, they would be the No. 5 or No. 6 seed, depending on the Chargers.
Bengals’ path to the No. 1 seed:
Chiefs lose to the Raiders and the Bengals beat the Ravens and beat the Bills.
Bengals’ path to the No. 2 seed:
Chiefs beat or tie the Raiders, Bengals beat the Ravens and the Bills.
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Or
Chiefs beat or tie the Raiders, Bengals lose to the Ravens, beat the Bills and the Bills lose to the Patriots.
Or
Chiefs lose or tie to the Raiders, Bengals lose to the Ravens and beat the Bills.
Bengals’ path to the No. 3 seed:
Chiefs beat or tie the Raiders, Bengals beat either the Bills or Ravens, Bills beat either the Bengals or Patriots.
Bengals’ path to the No. 5 seed:
Bengals lose to the Ravens and Bills, and Chargers lose to the Broncos.
Bengals’ path to the No. 6 seed:
Bengals lose to the Ravens and Bills, and Chargers beat the Broncos.
(Photo of Joe Burrow: Nick Grace / Getty Images)
